Blue
by nareboshi
Summary: AU. Chibi/child Sasuke, a poor boy, during a festival for the kingdom meets Chibi/child Naruto, the prince. Sasuke swears fealty to the prince and a strange friendship is born. A bit of a Romeo and Juliet story.
1. Chapter 1

Kites and flowers flew in the sky above the small child's head. He looked up at them with awe and longing. He wished he could just fly away from here. The boy Sasuke looked down again at the wares that he was trying to sell, all lined up in front of him on a small, ragged cloth. He just wished someone could just buy them so he could be free to explore the festival by himself. A few hours ago, his brother Itachi had told him to sell the small trinkits to the tourists that would be coming to the festival. But Sasuke could now see it was useless. No one was going to pay attention to a little poor boy when there were magnificent floats and the like swaying side to side down the street.

The little Sasuke sighed and stretched, again looking to the sky. It was blue. Blue. He liked that colour, but he didn't know anything that was that colour except the sky. Everything in his world was grey. Sometimes red.

The crowd that lined the street on both sides suddenly gave a roar and Sasuke jumped. He knew what it was that was coming down the road, but he couldn't stop himself from trying to peer through the crowd to see the royal family stride down the street. He couldn't see a thing. Sasuke pouted then jumped up and was about to run to the crowd when he glanced down at the trinkets he was supposed to be trying to sell. _I'll be only a moment, nothing's going to happen to them_, he thought quickly to himself, not wanting to miss what was going on. Satisfied with the excuse he ran over to the crowd and pushed his way through.

The spectical was amazing. Hundreds of dancers and bard walked down the centre of the road, on and around the huge floats. Sasuke had heard of such an event, but he had never believed how amazing it was. Now he did. And then the royal carriage turned the corner and everyone tried their hardest to see into it. Inside it was the royal family. King Minato, his lovely queen Kushina and their small son, Naruto. _He looks about my age_, Sasuke thought as he saw the boy. As the carriage passed the area where Sasuke stood, the small prince looked out, down where the other boy stood. Their eyes connected. It seemed to be an eternity, but it was only a few moments until an unwitting dancer leapt between them, breaking the connection.

A light tinkling awoke the small boy, and Sasuke turned to find a youth bundling up his trinkets and about to run away.

"Hey!" Sasuke yelled as the youth took off. Sasuke tried to catch him but the others longer legs proved to hard to keep up with. Finally the small boy colapsed on the ground. He had run flat out from the festive streets, down small streets, over walls, and now he sat in this dark alleyway.

Sasuke, after finally getting his breath back, stood and looked around to see where he was. Cold, dark, strange walls towered around him. He was lost. Sasuke turned and tried to find his way back, but he couldn't. The theif had taken too many turns and now he coudln't remember from where he had come from. Finally the small, dark haired boy dropped to the ground, leaning against a damp wall. His brother was going to be so angry at him. He curled up in a ball and tried to fall asleep, but the banging of fireworks from the festival kept him from sleep. Some time passed and the din quietened down and Sasuke was able to sleep. He dreamt of spiraling kites and fireworks, flying through the sky. Then his dreams took a darker turn and he dreamt of theives that leapt around him, slipping their hands into his pockets and taking all he owned. He gasped and awoke from the dreams. He looked around him again and found himself to still be in the dark alley. It was now night. Close to tears he buried his head in his knees and again tried to sleep. A small hand rested on his head and Sasuke jerked up. Blue eyes looking into onyx ones.

"Are you alright?" the little prince asked. Sasuke tried to find his voice, but found he had left it in the world of dreams. He rubbed his eyes and nodded. The blonde boy grinned. "That's good!"

"What is?"

"Mmm," the prince said, scratching the back of his head. "I can't remember now!" He grinned again. "My name's Naruto," he said, reaching out his hand. "And you are?"

"Sasuke," replied the boy, taking the others hand.

"Sasuke... I'll remember that!" Naruto then pulled on Sasuke's hand. "Let's go!"

"Huh? Go where?" In response to this, the small blonde boy laughed and just pulled hard on Sasuke's hand. They were now running. The blonde pulling the raven. He didn't know where they were going, but somehow, he liked feeling Naruto pull him along. He blonde boy looked back and grinned. Sasuke grinned back. _He has blue eye_, Sasuke thought. _Blue... like the sky._


	2. Chapter 2

Another short chapter in Blue. I wasn't planning to continue this story, but after seeing a certain review I decided to continue, since I already had some ideas of where it could go. Remember, they're still little kids.

I don't own any of the characters, only the story. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Cherry blossoms trees lined the streets, their petals carpeting the ground in a great sea of pink. The sun was just starting to set, so the sky was a deep violet. The royal castle ahead reflected all that on it's white marble surfaces, shining. The small boy couldn't help smiling at the sight. It was too beautiful. A hand squeezed his and he looked at the other boy who was also grinning. But not at the sky. At him.

"Can you stay for dinner?" Naruto asked.

"Well," Sasuke started to say, his smile dropping, "Ita-nii said that father wanted me to come back straight after the festival..."

"Are you afraid of him? Your father?" This question startled Sasuke. He looked down, unsure of whether to tell the truth or not.

"I..." Sasuke paused.

"Sorry."

"What?"

"You don't need to answer if you don't want to," Naruto said. "Sorry." Sasuke shook his head.

"It's fine. I... Yes. I'm scared of my father," Sasuke murmured. It was the first time he had admitted this to someone. Everyone just assumed that he was just obedient out of his own will, not that he was obedient out of fear. Suddenly he felt another hand around his.

"It will be okay if I get my dad to ask right? He's the King," the blonde said, excitement in his eyes. It was so contagious that the little dark-haired boy before him smiled too.

"Mmm. I guess so." They both grinned. _I hope it's alright..._, though Sasuke as Naruto again, pulled him along toward the castle. But the many sights drove the unhappy thoughts from his mind.

As the two ran closer to the castle, Sasuke noticed that the trees on either side started to thin and he could see people dancing with long metal sticks in their hands. Mesmerized, he stopped, pulling Naruto to stand still too and look to where he was.

"What are they doing?" Sasuke asked the little prince. He pointed at the people between the trees. Now that he could seem them better, he noticed that they wore plates of metal which glinted and shone in the dying rays of the sun.

"They want to be knights of the kingdom," Naruto replied, evenly. He had seen this sight many times. "They're practicing for the entrance exam." He pulled on Sasuke's hand. "Let's go. The food might get cold." At the mention of food, Sasuke snapped out of his daydream of knights and dragons and quickly followed.

"What do knights do?" Sasuke asked when they were nearing the gates.

"Knights? Well," Naruto started, he had had a lesson on knights a few days ago, "usually the best knights are assigned to a specific person, usually a person of royalty or high status. The rest then go into the army as Special Units."

"I see..." Sasuke's eyes flickered to the people fighting with their swords among the trees. "Can anyone take the exam?"

"That's what my dad says," Naruto replied, not knowing where this conversation was going. "But he says it's harder for people who don't come from powerful or rich families. I'm not sure why, but it should be possible for anyone." Sasuke nodded.

"Then," Sasuke said, stopping again, "I want to be your knight." He slid his hand out of the other boys and dropped on one knee, putting his right hand over his heart. He had seen men propose to women in this way, so he supposed it would work the same way for a knight. "I promise that you that I will become your knight, Naruto." He glanced up to see the little prince's reaction. His face looked shocked. Then a spark of inspiration crossed his face and he ran over to one of the trees, searching through the cherry blossoms for something.

"Wait right there," he said when Sasuke was about to stand and help him. "Ah!" he exclaimed when he had found what it was then came running back, a long stick in his hand. "Here we go!"

Naruto raised the stick then tapped it on Sasuke's right shoulder, then the left one, and finally on the top of his head. But a hand stopped the stick before it touched.

"I'll wait till I'm a real knight before you do that," Sasuke said, standing. Naruto nodded and they both grinned. _I hope I haven't done something foolish..._, thought Sasuke as Naruto pulled him off again toward the castle. Above them the faded blue sky crept into the realm of night, darkening with each step the two boys made.

* * *

That was really short. I'm amazed that I CAN actually write a chapter that isn't 6 pages long. I hope you enjoyed that fluff. If you don't understand anything please message me, since I'm not too sure of everything myself. .


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the wait, but I ended up writing a chapter of when Sasuke is 12 years old, but I want to continue the stories when he's a child before going into that. Ownership of characters belongs to their creator, story to me. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

It was getting dark when Sasuke finally ran out of the large castle doors so the lamps that ran down both sides of the street were lit with fragments of fairy wings. At least that's what his brother Itachi had told him.

Sasuke skipped along the road toward home, reliving the memories of the evening. When Sasuke had first turned up with Naruto, King Minato had been so worried at Naruto's absence that he had taken up both Naruto and Sasuke in his arms and hugged the air out of them. It was only when Queen Kushina had come, when he finally noticed that there was indeed another boy.

After apoligizing explicitly, they had all gone to the dinning hall where they were served large amounts of food of varieties that Sasuke could never hope to name them all. During dinner, King Minato had questioned Sasuke on many parts of his life. Sasuke told him that he had one older brother, Itachi. That he lived with his parents in one of the larger, but over crowded, area on the south part of the capital. Then the topic switched to Sasuke's aspirations to become Naruto knight, although that part was skillfully edited out until Naruto and Sasuke got Minato's opinion. He seemed to think it was wonder.

Sasuke smiled to himself as he jumped from one roof to the next, a shortcut Ita-nii had shown him the other day. King Minato was so different from his own father. He was kind and supportive. His was strict and controlling. Sasuke thought about Queen Kushina. She was similar to his own mother, although she seemed to be more ... tomboyish in her manner.

Landing lightly on the roof on the other side of the wall, Sasuke remembered the token that Kushina had given him and pulled it out of his shirt. It was a dark stone with the king's seal carved in on one side. Minato had told him that he was to show this to the instructor at the academy so that he could join the class. Sasuke held it tightly, cool tendrils running through his hands and down his arms. He shuddered. This stone had power.

Quickly, Sasuke dropped the stone down his shirt, the string already around his neck. He then took off toward his house. He arrived a few minutes later, partially winded from the run, but otherwise alright. He gingerly opened the door and stepped over the threshold and suddenly, a feeling of unease coursed through him.

_There's something not ... right!_ Sasuke thought as he ran down the hall, past the neighbor's apartments. His feet pounded the floor, his heart racing, as he came to the right door, the Uchiha plate on the door.. He raised a hand to open the door, but his hand stopped as heard raised voices. As gently as he could, Sasuke eased the door open a fraction so he could hear what was being said.

"Maybe he's just got a little lost," Sasuke heard his mother say. A cup crashed against the door.

"You can't know that! That brat ran away and stole the goods!" his father yelled, his voice laced with alcohol. Sasuke winced. They were talking about him. Deciding that he had better get the punishment now than when his father was completely senseless, Sasuke pushed against the door and edged into the house, wary of any flying articles that may come his way. He ducked and a plate crashed against the door where his head had just been.

"Where have you been?!" bellowed his father, raising another plate despite his wife's attempts to stop him. "What's that you got there?" Sasuke's father walked toward the boy and grabbed his shirt, pulling off the ground. "What's this? A charm?"

_No! Don't take it_, Sasuke screamed in his head, but he was unable to move is mouth to form the words. His body had frozen up. His father reached to take the charm and a spark of energy flew at him, knocking him to the floor.

"Itachi!" yelled Sasuke's mother. "Take Sasuke and go!" The thirteen year old in the corner jumped to his feet at his mother's words, and ran toward Sasuke and helped him off the ground. Still shaking, Sasuke complied, racing out the door just behind his brother and into the cold night air.

"Get back in here!!" Their father bellowed after their retreating figures, but they didn't stop. The last thing Sasuke heard was his father knock his mother to the ground when she tried to stop him from following.

* * *

It was so stressful to write that last part. I feel so sorry for Sasuke. TAT I'm writing the next chapter now, and I think it will be up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Poor little Sasuke. I feel so bad putting him through all this. Don't worry. I'm not that sadistic, so it should get happier after this. I think. Hope you enjoy.

Ownership as stated in another chapter.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Sasuke's mother turned to look at her little son. Unconciously, she fingered the bruise on her arm where she had hit the floor.

"What for?" She asked as she used a cotton ball to dab antiseptic on a cut on Sasuke's cheek. After running out of the house, he and Itachi had hidden on the roof so they could hear what happened and now when they could go back. It was the same every time. When their parent's voices had died down, Itachi ventured down and was knocked out by a blow to the head from his father. He had then climbed onto the roof and beaten the little Sasuke. Overall, it hurt, but there was nothing particularly bad.

"I'm sorry...for everything," Sasuke said, wincing slightly when the antiseptic touched inside the wound. His mother shook her head.

"It's not your fault. Your father was just drunk." When Sasuke didn't reply, she held out her arms and he jumped into them, sobbing. She wrapped her arms protectively around him, patting his back and rocking him slightly. "It's alright. It's alright," she crooned softly. Soon the sobs gave way to faint shudderings and finally he lay curled in silence.

Sasuke's mother opened her arms a little and she saw that Sasuke was clutching with small hands, the 'knight's token'. She sighed inwardly.

"Your father doesn't want you to become a knight. He thinks that they are just money grubbing mercenaries, who don't care about anyone," his mother said softly. Sasuke broke out of her hold and looked up at her.

"I promised him though," he said, defiance in his eyes. "I promised him that I would definitely become a knight." _And become his knight_, he thought to himself. His mother's eyes saddened.

"I don't know who you promised," she said, setting Sasuke down and resuming applying antiseptic to his wounds. "But you have to break that promise. There's no way you can become a knight. Even if your father allowed you to, we can't pay for the tuition."

"But, what if I got a job?" His mother couldn't hide her smile at her youngest son's innocence.

"Life isn't that simple. For one thing, who would want to hire a eight year old? And even if they did, do you really want to break apart this family just for a promise." Sasuke was shocked at this, but he kept it to himself.

Sasuke loved his mother and brother, but he had always felt a missing hole closest to his heart. He had used to think that it was normal to not have anyone that close, but after meeting Naruto he thought differently, because, even in the little time they had met, Naruto had filled this hole.

On the bed beside them, another boy with dark hair stirred and sat up.

"Sasuke..." Itachi murmured as he saw his younger brother and mother.

"Ita-nii!!" Sasuke exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He stumbled over to the bed and looked carefully at his older brother. "Does your head hurt?"

"Not much," was Itachi's reply as he tried to get out of the bed, but Sasuke pushed him back.

"You have to rest!" Sasuke chided, pouting. Itachi smiled, submitting to Sasuke's pushing and lay back down on the bed.

"Are you alright, Okaa-san?" Itachi asked when Sasuke had returned being treated. Their mother smiled.

"I'm alright. It's you who I should be worrying about. You got quite a large bruise," she replied. Sasuke watched as she fussed over him and Itachi trying to convince her that it was nothing. _This is how family should be,_ he thought, standing.

"I'll go get some tea," Sasuke said as he made for the door. He closed the door behind him, not waiting for a reply and walked quietly down the hall, not wanting to wake his father. He came to the kitchen and started up the fire on the stove. He then filled the kettle with water and held it over the open flame. The metal got hot, burning a little, but he was used to it. He was used to all of it. This whole life of his.

Sasuke looked out of the open window as he waited for the water to boil. A bird flew past the window and around, up to the sky, and not for the first time Sasuke wished he could grow wings and fly away. He sighed and poured the water into the teapot and used a chopstick to swirl the tea leaves around, trying to get the colour right. Finally satisfied with the dark liquid, Sasuke poured the steaming tea into two cups and a bowl. His father had broken the other cup the night before.

Carrying the cups, bowl and teapot on a tray, Sasuke made his way back to the bedroom he and Itachi shared. They chatted for a while as they sipped their tea. After a while there was a slight lull in the conversation and Sasuke made to stand. As he did the door to the room suddenly slammed open. His father was in the doorway.

Sasuke looked carefully up at his father. From his assessment he appeared to be sober, well, at least more sober than the night before. Sasuke hoped this was a good thing.

"Oto-sa-" Sasuke's mother started to say, but his father threw out a hand, stopping her. He then brought his hand around and pointed it at his youngest son. Sasuke shuddered inwardly. _It's coming_, he thought. _It's coming._

"You," his father said, contempt filling every syllable. "Uchiha Sasuke, I expell you from this house. I disown you. I no longer have a son by your name." Sasuke's father then turned and walked out of the door.

Sasuke let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. A hand touched his arm and he looked around to see his mother. There were tears in her eyes.

"Oka-san..."

"You h-have to go now," she said through sobs. She blindly fumbled around the room, picking up clothes and a few items he would need. By this time Itachi had also stood and, although still shaky, he too was helping in the collection. He walked to his own cupboard and pulled out a leather backpack and helped his mother put all the items inside.

"Oka-san..." Sasuke's mother turned to him as he said it. Small arms then flew around her waist and a dark head buried itself into her stomach. She touched Sasuke's shoulders and found that they were shaking.

"It's alright," she said soothingly though fresh tears were lining her eyes. "It'll be alright." After a time, Sasuke broke the hug and stepped back, dry tears in his cheeks.

"Oy, Sasuke," Itachi said behind him. Sasuke turned and Itachi motioned for him to come to him. As he did, Itachi brought up a finger and poked his little brother gently on the brow. "Go become a proper knight." Itachi then handed Sasuke the bag, the small boy taking it and strapping it on his back. Sasuke nodded, his throut too clogged with tears to say anything. He then gave his big brother a quick hug and ran out of the door.

Sasuke ran faster than he ever had before. Down the hall, out the door, and into the crisp morning. The sky was blue. Blue.

* * *

I hope that wasn't too sad or bad or whatever. I really hope you enjoyed that. Cheers! See you in the next chapter .


	5. Chapter 5

Blue 5

--

Naruto glared out the window, irritated that it was the walls around him that kept him in place. He was in one of his lessons. Lessons that taught only the king's son. Lessons he'd rather do without. But he did them all the same so he could please Otosan.

A sharp swish of air and a hard ruler snapped on Naruto's desk. The boy looked up, startled, and found his tutor looking down her long nose at him. How he hated it when she did that. She began to say something to him, something that probably talked of the topic of 'why aren't you listening', but Naruto was doing just that.

Again the boy looked out the window while his tutor yammered on. The sky outside was blue. _I wonder how _he _is…_ Naruto thought, his eyes drooping. Suddenly a thought came to him and he jumped up from his seat, and finding that his tutor had again turned her back to him, he ran out the door.

He was going to find Sasuke!

--

The plan wasn't going well. In the happy ecstasy of the day before, Naruto had forgotten to ask where his friend lived. _No, _best _friend_, he amended. Naruto didn't have any friends before he met Sasuke. All the people he knew in the castle and out of it were all at least seven years older than him, making it hard for him to really befriend them. It wasn't that he didn't try, but it just seemed beyond his reach.

And now Naruto stood at the intersection of two equally dark and menacing paths. Which should he take? A whistling near the blonde's ear made him turn suddenly and his clothes was caught in a sudden, strong gust of wind. It was so strong it twirled the boy so that he faced the left path. The wind continued to blow down that path and, without much thinking, Naruto ran down that same path, chasing the wind. It would definately lead him to Sasuke. Definately.

--

Naruto had been running for what seemed like hours, though it was probably only minutes. Each time he came to a crossroads, he followed the wind's direction. Left, left, right, straight, right, left, left, then finally he saw a huge light a head of him. Naruto ran faster. He had to becoming up to a larger space, like a courtyard of some sort.

He ran forward, bursting into the light. It was indeed a courtyard, albeit a small one. It seemed to be one of many open spaces the last king had decided to implement as part of a resoration scheme of the city. It hadn't worked. But Naruto didn't know or care about any scheme. All he saw was his friend sitting on the rim of the fountain that sat in the middle of the courtyard.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he ran over. The boy with black hair jumped and looked up. There were tears in his eyes. Naruto, shocked, stopped where he was. "Sasuke...? What's wrong?"

Sasuke looked down and shook his head. "Nothing," he said in a small voice. He rose abruptly and turned away. "Nothing..." he mumbled as he started to walk away. "Nothing's... w-wrong..." he said again, almost to himself. Naruto ran up to him and caught his shoulder, turning him to face him.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Sasuke stared at him with tears streaming down his face. He smiled and shook his head.

"I told you already," he replied, voice breaking, "nothing's w-"

Naruto pulled Sasuke closer to him and wrapped his small arms around him. "Tell me what happened," he said in a small, but commanding voice. "Please."

Sasuke's lip trembled and fresh tears blossomed in his eyes. He grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt and put his head down on Naruto's shoulder, crying. This shocked the boy, but he continued to hug his friend, rubbing his hand up and down his back like how his mother did.

"It's okay," Naruto said softly, "it's okay." Sasuke's shoulders shook and Naruto could hear sobs coming from the little boy. What had happened to put him in this state?

--

"So... your dad kicked you out?"

Sasuke nodded but said nothing, his hand holding on tightly to the edge of Naruto's jacket. The two of them were walking through the twisting streets of the inner city, the high class area. High classed people were staring at them as they made their way down the road.

"What will you do now?" Naruto asked, looking over his shoulder to see how Sasuke was going. The boy shrugged.

"Dunno..." he muttered.

"I see..." Naruto turned back to the road ahead. He was still furious at Sasuke's father for doing such a thing, but he knew he shouldn't show it, now that Sasuke was still around. But Naruto knew he'd make him pay one day.

Naruto's mind drifted back to the immediate problem. What was Sasuke going to do? The boy had money, not relatives, no contacts of any kind. Unless...

"Neh, Sasuke!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed as whirling to face his friend, startling him. "Come to my place!"

Sasuke's brow furrowed. "Your...place? You mean the castle?" Naruto nodded vigorously. "But...that..."

"But nothing! Let's go ask my dad for a room for you," the little boy said, pulling Sasuke behind him.

And above the two running boys, the sky shone a brilliant blue as a new page turned in each of the boy's lives: the Prince and the Peasant. A friendship that would ascend rank.

-----

Next chap there will be a time skip to when the boys are around 12 years of age. I hope you look forward to it!


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